Jose Mourinho believes Chelsea are re-discovering the grit and character that is needed if they are to emerge as champions.

He takes his team to Turf Moor this weekend where they will face a passionate crowd and ­opposition who will deny them time and space.

It was the same scenario faced by Chelsea towards the end of last season when they lost 1-0 at Crystal Palace – and Mourinho was in no doubt what his team lacked that day.

He was reluctant to say it publicly and instead wrote “BALLS” on a scrap of paper (above).

So what about now? He said: “You have to have that habit of winning when it is cold, raining, hot or when the sun is shining.

“You need to be able to play against teams who give you space and teams who put 10 men behind the ball. You need to do that every week. Be strong every week.

“When I came here I did not find that. I found a team that was good to reach knockout levels, but not for a competitive ­marathon.”

(Image: Srdjan Stevanovic)

And he believes the team will show the character that he knows is needed to win the Premier League.

He has brought in proven campaigners in Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas, Filipe Luis and Didier Drogba. And he is convinced the younger players will benefit from last season.

Mourinho said: “For some, like Eden Hazard and Oscar, it was something new to them to go in that direction. This time, they will be much better prepared.”

He is also delighted with the way Costa has adapted to life at Stamford Bridge after his move from Atletico Madrid.

He admitted: “He was in Portugal and I never looked at him! He went to Atletico and Sergio Aguero was the ­superstar, so Diego went on loan. Then, they brought in Radamel Falcao – and Diego went out on loan. He was behind very ­important players.

“When the chance came to go back, he showed he was better than the previous ones.

Mourinho sees no problem with having what he calls “two of the best goalkeepers in the world” in his squad with Petr Cech and Thibaut Courtois. He said: “The problem would be if I had no good goalkeepers.

“Can we keep them both? Yes. We are Chelsea. We can.”

And he steered clear of bragging about silverware that he believes will come Chelsea’s way this season after a fruitless first campaign.

He added: “I believe there are five or six teams who will call themselves contenders, and all I’ll say is that we are contenders.

“There is no league in the world like this one where five or six teams can say that.

“All I can say is we are contenders. If we play good, if we play well and if someone finishes above us, then they are better and that is ­football.”